Best time to start irrigation zones

253 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by wiltonlawn, 4 d ago

Glen_Cove_5511

Discussion Starter · 7 d ago

The zones in my back yard do not start seeing sunlight until around 11 AM this time of year. To help promote drying on the grass blades and help reduce fungus pressure, should I time my irrigation zones for the back yard to start at 11 AM instead of 5 AM?

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prometheanfire

· #2 · 7 d ago

I'd start 1-2 hours before sun comes up, 3 hours is probably fine too if there's indirect light.

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GCoco

· #3 · 7 d ago

As mentioned earlier, early in the morning. Don’t water in the middle of the day and you don’t want water sitting on grass over night.

So you have a perfect 3 minute window at 0538 to 0541😄

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Glen_Cove_5511

Discussion Starter · #4 · 6 d ago

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like the fact that the lawn doesn't get any sun until around 11AM doesn't really matter. Sunrise here is around 6:20AM, which would mean the grass would be wet for 5 hours before it had a chance to start drying.

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prometheanfire

· #5 · 6 d ago

Ya, I'd time it to when it can start drying. Sun removes the water which helps limit fungus but I think more importantly it introduces UV light, which helps as well.

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Glen_Cove_5511

Discussion Starter · #6 · 6 d ago

I've adjusted my schedule to start at 11:30 AM when it needs to run.

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MasterMech

· #7 · 4 d ago

Glen_Cove_5511 said:
I've adjusted my schedule to start at 11:30 AM when it needs to run.

Barring any other circumstances, I would time it to FINISH at 11:30 or shortly before. If the back yard is the last to receive light, then I'd make it the last zone in the sequence to run.

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Glen_Cove_5511

Discussion Starter · #8 · 4 d ago

MasterMech said:
Barring any other circumstances, I would time it to FINISH at 11:30 or shortly before. If the back yard is the last to receive light, then I'd make it the last zone in the sequence to run.

Thanks, I’ll adjust it to start at 10:00 AM.

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wiltonlawn

· #9 · 4 d ago

Very timely thread as I was about to post the same question although I am above groun. Similar situation where the West section of backyard gets AM sun and the shade line moves throughout the morning. 10:40am and there is still a good 30ft of shade. Sounds like aiming to finish the water just before sun will maximize soil penetration and minimize fungus risk.

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